Arrested Development is an American mockumentary television comedy series created by Mitchell Hurwitz about a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family. The show is presented in a mockumentary format, complete with narration, archival photos, and historical footage.
The series originally aired in the USA on Fox from 2 November, 2003 to 10 February, 2006. It was revived in 2013 by Netflix for one season, all episodes of which were released on 26 May, 2013. There are 68 episodes in four seasons.
Arrested Development originally premiered in South Africa on e.tv on 6 February, 2005. Only the first three seasons aired on e.tv. The series was later picked up by DStv's M-Net Series channel (only the first season aired), by TopTV's Fox Entertainment channel (beginning with Season 2) and on DStv's Vuzu channel (Season 4 only).
See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4 premiered on Vuzu on Wednesday 9 October 2013, at 19h00. New episodes broadcast from Tuesdays to Thursdays at the same time. There are 15 episodes in the fourth and final season.
Series Synopsis
Arrested Development features the crazy members of the Bluth Family.
The series begins with George Snr in jail after dodgy accounting in the family's real estate business. While in jail he has converted to Judaism and believes that his own inspirational tapes will heal the world.
His wife Lucille is a cold-hearted socialite who has no time for anyone.
They have four children: Gob, the unemployed magician; Lindsay, whose attention span is in serious need of repair; Buster, who suffers from neuroses and separation anxiety from his martini-drinking mama; and Michael, the only sane member of this family.
Michael tries to keep the family business running while the family runs amok, draining all the money and patience he ever had.
Other insane characters are Tobias, doctor-turned-actor husband of Lindsay and father of Maeby, a teenager who constantly finds ways to rebel against her disinterested parents.
George Michael is Michael's son, a sensitive kid trying to follow in his father's good footsteps amidst the chaos that is the Bluth family.
Season 1
George Bluth Sr., patriarch of the Bluth family, is the founder and former CEO of the Bluth Company, which markets and builds mini-mansions, among other activities.
George Sr. is arrested by the Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding investors and gross spending of the company's money for "personal expenses". His wife Lucille becomes CEO, and immediately names as the new president her youngest son Buster, who proves ill equipped.
Seeing no other options the family turns to Michael, the middle son, and twin to the Bluths' only girl, Lindsay, giving him control of the company. To keep the family together, Michael convinces his son and sister's family to live together in a Bluth model home.
Throughout the first season, different characters struggle to change their identities. Buster works to escape from his mother's control through brotherly bonding and love interests such as Lucille Austero.
George Michael nurses a forbidden crush on his cousin Maeby, while continually trying to meet his father's expectations.
Lindsay's husband Tobias, a psychiatrist who has lost his medical license, searches for work as an actor, with the aid of Carl Weathers.
Michael falls in love with his older brother GOB's neglected girlfriend Marta, and is torn between being with her and putting "family first". After he quarrels with GOB, Marta realizes that they do not share the same family values, and she leaves them both.
To spite Buster, Lucille adopts a Korean son whom she calls 'Annyong' after she mistakes the Korean word for 'hello' as his name.
Through an escalating series of dares, GOB gets married to a woman he just met, played by real life wife Amy Poehler, but cannot get an annulment because he refuses to admit that he did not consummate the marriage.
Kitty, George Sr.'s former assistant, tries to blackmail the company. She is caught in the Bluth family yacht's explosion, as used in one of GOB's magic acts, but survives.
After previous failed attempts, and a brief religious stint in Judaism, George Sr. finally escapes from prison by faking a heart attack. It is also revealed that George committed "light treason" by using the company to build mini-palaces for Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Season 2
Because of his father's latest lie about a heart attack, Michael decides to leave his family and company behind. Lucille appoints GOB to be the new Bluth Company president, but he proves incapable and the position reverts back to Michael.
George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar moves in with Lucille in an attempt to rekindle a previous love affair.
After faking his death in Mexico, George Sr. returns to the family model home, where he hides in the attic. Meanwhile, Buster joins the army, but escapes serving in Iraq when his hand is bitten off by a loose seal.
He bonds with his uncle Oscar, who is revealed as Buster's presumptive biological father. George Michael begins dating a deeply religious girl, Ann Veal; his father does not like her, and tries to disrupt their relationship.
Michael fails to break them up, but George Michael sees a chance for his crush on Maeby to bear fruit, and the pair kiss while the living room of the model home collapses under them.
Maeby becomes a film studio executive covertly, and Tobias repeatedly paints himself blue in a futile attempt to join the Blue Man Group. Throughout the season, various blue paint marks can be seen around the family's house and on the back of Tobias's neck when not in full makeup.
After being kicked out by Lindsay, Tobias dresses as "Mrs. Featherbottom" to be around Maeby, an explicitly narrated reference to Mrs. Doubtfire.
Kitty returns to steal a sample of George Sr.'s semen to make her own Bluth baby. George Sr., in revenge for twin brother Oscar's affair with his wife, exchanges appearances with an unconscious Oscar, who is mistakenly sent to prison in the place of George Sr., who flees again.
Season 3
The most dysfunctional family on television, the Bluths are back for a final season. Unlike most comedies, Arrested Development is presented in a documentary format with an omniscient third-person narrator with family pictures and flashbacks.
This season is guaranteed to be more eccentric than the last two with South Africa's Charlize Theron guest starring in five episodes as Michael Bluth’s girlfriend, Rita.
The previously wealthy Bluths are forced to sell their cabin in Reno and the company stock ratings have dropped even lower. When Michael makes an impromptu visit to his jailed father George Sr., he discovers his Uncle Oscar behind bars.
His manipulative mother, Lucille, has ceased taking her post partum medication that she has been on for the past 30 years. She fears she will start having the same toxic thoughts she had the last time she was off her meds. The last time, she emphasized, with a mother who drowned her children in a car.
Michael’s son George Michael Bluth and his niece, Maeby, avoid each other like the plague after the kiss they shared last season.
Seasons
Note: Season 2 aired before Season 1 on Fox Entertainment. Only the first season aired on M-Net Series and only the fourth season aired on Vuzu.
Season 1 (22 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 6 Feb 2005 | Finale: 3 Jul 2005 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 1 Jul 2006 | Finale: 25 Nov 2006 | Sat, 18h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 15 Jul 2010 | Finale: 30 Sep 2010 | Thu, 21h00
Season 2 (18 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 14 May 2006 | Finale: 10 Sep 2006 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 13 May 2010 | Finale: 15 Jul 2010 | Thu, 21h00
Season 3 (13 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 13 Apr 2008 | Finale: 6 Jul 2008 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 8 Dec 2011 | Finale: 19 Jan 2012 | Thu, 21h00
Season 4 (15 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 9 Oct 2013 | Finale: 12 Nov 2013 | Tue-Thu, 19h00